Taking Chances
by sweet.outcast
Summary: After the death of his father, Gaara spent time in the foster system and then a mental health institute. Finally being released back into foster system, he has a new foster parent (OC) and will be spending time on a farm in Konoha. Follow his healing, his making of new friends, and his self discovery. Eventual romance to happen later. (note that rating may change)


The morning started out the same as any other, a routine that was seldom broken. The alarm went off at five thirty in the morning and rang for a good minute before Indigo actually reached over to shut it off. It took another five minutes of staring up at the dark ceiling, blinking the sleep out of his eyes, before he rolled out of bed. By quarter after, his bed had been made, he'd gotten fully dressed, and he'd pulled his unruly curly hair back into a ponytail. It was past shoulder length and needed to be cut. It was something he had been meaning to get to for a couple months, but every time he thought about it, he was either busy or just didn't have the motivation to go into town to get it done. The shop always closed early, too, so getting one after work usually didn't pan out too well. For now, just keeping it back in a ponytail would be more than sufficient. As long as his unruly mane didn't get in his way while he worked, he was content.

Chores were the next part of his morning, and what took the most time. Indigo lived on a small farm that had been left for him by his pseudo-father, Elik, when he passed away a few years ago. Even before the old man's death, the thirty-year old had been living with the man on the farm since he was sixteen, so he had a handle on everything. With Elik gone, there was definitely a load of work that had been left for him, especially since he lived on his own, but it was manageable. There was a dairy cow, a coop with ten chickens and a rooster, a pen of pigs, and a small vegetable garden. Between taking care of all that and working part time at the auto shop, it kept him busy and Indigo liked it that way. He liked staying on the move, having something to do and keep his mind on. He was definitely one of the few that could say he was never bored.

Taking care of the animals didn't take more than an hour. He walked out to the barn, fed and watered the animals, milked the cow and let her out into the enclosed yard afterward, collected the eggs from the coop, and took everything back to the house to store. Watering the animals took the longest, since the hose only reached the cow's water trough. Indigo had to fill up the ten gallon buckets at the house and walk them over to the different pens. It took about as much time as milking the cow, but it was a little more strenuous and bothersome.

After the animals were taken care of, he strained the milk and cleaned the eggs before putting them in the fridge. The garden still needed to be watered, and Indigo had ten minutes left. With the last of his time, he put a bagel in the toaster and watered the garden while it heated up. He could water it again when he got back home if he really felt the need to. When he finished with the watering, he went back through the house, grabbed his bagel and stuff, and headed out the front door.

He walked down the steps and a smile spread across his lips when a blond haired cycler stopped in his driveway and waved at him. "Good morning, Naruto. You're heading out early." Naruto was a kid that lived about five minutes up the street. He had been adopted about four years ago by Iruka, a good friend of his. "You stopping by after school?"

Naruto rode up the driveway a little bit to stop in front of Indigo and heaved a sigh. "Iruka grounded me. I can't."

The older male's eyes widened. "He grounded you from coming over?" That was a new one. The first time Naruto really came over was for punishment purposes. The blond had gotten in trouble at home, and as punishment, Iruka asked if some work could be found for the teen. It had been summer break, so of course the last thing Naruto had wanted to do was work outside all day. Reluctantly, he had. Naruto tore apart the pig shelter and rebuilt it again, and since it had been his first time doing something like that, it had taken him all day. Plus, Indigo was partially to blame. He should have been supervising a little more, and since he hadn't, Naruto had started out using the wrong screws and nails. Indigo hated having to tell him to start over, but he tried to make it up to the other by making dinner for him. Because yes, working was Naruto's punishment, but having him work more to fix a mistake that could have easily been prevented didn't seem right.

After the first punishment, he started being sent over more, and after about a dozen visits, Naruto started showing up on his own. Indigo didn't really know why, but he figured the other just enjoyed having responsibility that wasn't school and that he wasn't being harped on all the time. He also hoped that Naruto just liked the company, since he certainly did. It was nice having someone over, even if it was just a kid. Having the noise of conversation, even if it was mostly one-sided on Naruto's part, was nice and a welcome change.

"Well, we won't disobey him, then." Iruka had been a good friend for a long time and he respected the other man's decision. "You should stop by after school, though, so I can give you some eggs to take home. I'll call Iruka and let him know what's going on so you don't get in trouble."

The blonde nodded and gave him a thumb up. "See you later, then."

Indigo waved at the boy as he rode down the driveway and down the street toward towns. He took a bite out of his bagel and got into his pickup truck, then took another bite before starting the engine and heading to work. Work went by quick enough. There were the normal oil changes in the morning right after opening, a couple of them coupled with tire rotation. Then there were a couple engine problems, a rattling noise from under one of the cars, a complete replacement of one of the cars' break systems, and a quick break for lunch somewhere in between it all, in which he called Iruka and let him know about sending eggs home with Naruto. Since he was there to open up, Indigo was allowed to leave before closing, so he was heading back home at four in the afternoon.

Naruto was waiting on the porch for him, homework out on his lap. "I keep you waiting long."

The blond looked up from his homework and shook his head. "A half hour? Doesn't really matter. I would have had to do my homework no matter where I'm at."

Indigo nodded and unlocked the front door. He grabbed the little basket hanging on a hook by the front door and lined it with a dish towel. Then he took some of the eggs from the fridge and put them gingerly into the basket, wrapping them to keep them safe and free from cracking. "Be careful taking these home."

"Always am," Naruto said with a grin and a salute. "See you when I get off of grounding." The blond took the basket and trotted out the door. Indigo watched him from the window, making sure Naruto actually got on his bike and was headed home. Satisfied, watching him go down the street, Indigo went to go sit and chill in the living room a bit before he started on his evening routine. He really needed a shower, since he was greasy and covered in the smell of oil, but he was planning on going on a run before eating dinner. At four thirty, he headed out of the house and went on a half hour run, coming home right as the answering machine caught the phone call.

"You've reached Indigo Dyskar. I'm unable to answer the phone right now, but if you leave your name, number, and convenience, I'll get back to you."

_Beep._

"Hey, Indigo. It's Meagan Wood. Saw that you were still on the foster parent roster. We should talk. I'll be here all night, so give me a ring when you can."

Indigo wiped the sweat from his face with his arm and went over to the phone to make sure she was on the caller ID. Thankfully she was, because he didn't have the woman's number anymore. He had met Meagan when he was eighteen, when he had attempted a year at college. School hadn't been his thing, since he couldn't stand sitting still for long periods of time. Meagan had been one of the only people he'd really befriended, and even after he got out of college, they stayed in touch, which was nice. That was twenty three years ago, though. She got married when she was twenty six, and after the wedding, they maybe only talked once or twice a year. A husband, a kid, and a job as a social worker really didn't leave her with a whole lot of time.

Since she said she was going to be around all night, Indigo headed to the bathroom, stripped down, and took a quick shower. Showering was definitely a highlight of the day. After being busy all day and getting down and dirty, it was nice to just stand under the hot spray and watch all the filth swirl down the drain.

Fifteen minutes later, he was dressed in a pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt, his curly dark locks combed out and towel dried. He went out to the kitchen and dialed the number on the caller ID, rooting through the fridge while the phone rang.

"Hey, Indigo."

It seemed like the women was waiting for him, like she knew that she had just missed him and it wasn't going to take long for him to call back. "Hey, Meg. What's up?" Indigo grabbed the eggs from the fridge, deciding he wasn't in the mood for anything big. An omelet and some fruit for dessert would be enough to fill him up.

"Straight to business as always, huh? That can wait for a minute. How have you been?"

"Same ol', same ol'. Still working the farm and working at the auto shop. Got hooked up on a blind date by a friend and that went sour quick. That happened about… six months ago maybe?" He shrugged and got the other things he needed from the fridge. "Nothing exciting. What about you? How's Brad and Thomas?"

"Both are fine. Brad is outta town on business. Thomas will be graduating from preschool in a few months. I've been doing the same old thing, so nothing really new with me."

Indigo got out a pan and melted some butter on it. "What did you want to talk about, Meg?"

The woman huffed a bit of laughter. "Never one for small talk. Fine. I saw that your name was still on the foster parent registry."

"Yeah. It's been there for awhile. No one ever seemed interested. Guess they thought a single man in the middle of nowhere was too sketchy or something."

"Could have been for a number of different reasons. But I know you, and I have a kid that I think would benefit from being around you, and away from a crap ton of people."

Indigo's eyes widened a bit, a little shocked by the news. "Really?" Indigo filed as a foster parent two years ago, following Iruka's suggestion. He liked kids and teens, had a soft spot for them. Fostering felt like the perfect thing, since he could empathize with kids who had a difficult time with their family life. Indigo could really empathize, since he went through a difficult time in his own home. His father left before he was born, and died from disease when he was three years old. And his mother treated him distantly because of his weird genetic disorder, on top of her suffering from depression. Life was hard and he had to grow up fast to learn how to take care of himself. He ran away several times when he was in high school and stayed away for good when he turned sixteen.

"His name is Gaara," Meagan continued. "He's fourteen and a real sweetheart when you get to know him. He has a long background of abuse and has been in the mental health system for over two years now."

"What for?" Indigo cracked some eggs in a bowl and beat them as he continued to listen.

"Last foster parents admitted him after he tried to strangle their kid. He didn't remember doing it. They admitted him into an abusive institute, and got switched to another last year. He's been doing good and the doctors don't see any reason to keep him here."

"No more violent outbursts?" That didn't bother Indigo too much, since he could definitely handle himself. The only concern would be that he couldn't send him to school if there was a risk that he could hurt other students.

"As long as no one tried to hurt him first. That's the only trigger that we've really found that stayed. Blood use to be a problem, but that turned into being ill."

Indigo nodded and reconfirmed that with an "okay." He poured the egg mixture into the pan and seasoned it with salt and pepper. "I'm interested. What do I need to do?"

"Do you have a computer?"

"It broke and I haven't gotten around to fixing it yet. I can use a friend's, though."

"Then I'll send you an email with the papers. Print them out and send them back to me. We can have everything worked out in a couple weeks and I'll bring him down to you."

"Sounds good. Anything else I should know about the kid before I finalize this deal." Indigo could handle most things, and honestly wasn't worried. Meagan knew his personality, and he knew she wouldn't suggest him personally for a kid if she didn't feel like it was a good match for both parties. But even so, he just didn't want any surprises.

"Not really. He's quiet, reserved, doesn't trust people all that well. But you two will get along fine, I think. You're an easy-going kind of person and he could use that."

"Alright. I'm trusting you. I'll get those papers sent within the next day or so."

"Great! I'm excited for you two. I really am. Call me when you send it?"

"Sure. Hey, I'm gonna let you go. I need to finish cooking dinner and talk to my friend so I can use his computer tomorrow."

"Aright, Indigo. Talk to you soon, then."

"Will do."

Indigo hung up the phone, put it back on the charger, and then went back to his omelet. He put cheese on it and flipped it. After a couple more minutes, he slid it off the skillet and onto a plate. The food was still a little hot, so he grabbed the phone back up and sat at the table. He punched in Iruka's number and waited for the man to pick up the phone.

"Hey, Indigo."

"Iruka."

"Thanks for the eggs. You know, you really don't have to keep handing them over. I feel like I really should pay you something."

"Naruto's helping me all the time, and I'd rather give them away then have them go to waste. Plus, you're a friend. I should probably start sending him home with milk too. There's a lot of that lying around."

"Only if you're sure."

"I am. Really, it's no big deal. But hey, I need to ask you for a favor. Remember when I applied to be a foster parent?"

"Did it finally pay off?" The other's voice sounded excited, definitely showing more outward expression of how Indigo was feeling on the inside. He was calm and collected, never really showing much emotion. Someone who didn't know him would definitely think he really didn't care all that much about it, but on the inside, his heart was beating faster and nerves were prickling at his insides.

"I did. One of Meg's."

"Your social worker friend?"

"Uh huh." Indigo poked at his omelet and started cutting it into pieces. "I have to send more paperwork in, though. Meg said she'd email it to me. Could I use your printer tomorrow after work?"

"You still haven't gotten your computer fixed."

"I never really use it. Never saw the point in it, especially when you live so close. Even canceled wifi."

"You're probably going to need to get that thing fixed, or get a new one then. Kid's going to need computer for homework."

"I think that's stupid. They should have to use the library, with pens and paper like we did."

"Yeah, well, I guess teachers don't want to put up with sloppy handwriting anymore. I know it flusters me, so I have them use computers for longer assignments."

"How's school?" Indigo thought it would be polite to ask since the subject was brought up slightly.

"Great. The kids are great, seventy-five percent of the time. Trying my patience the other twenty-five. Especially now, with spring break coming up soon."

"So I'll be seeing Naruto more, then?"

"If he gets his test scores up. He's been failing math again, mostly because he hasn't been doing his homework, and since he doesn't practice the problems through homework, his test scores suffer for it."

"Understandable. I hope he does, since it would be nice for Gaara to have someone his age to hang around for a bit."

"His name's Gaara?"

"Yeah. So after work tomorrow is fine?"

"Sure. Don't have any meetings after school tomorrow, so just stops by whenever."

"Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Looking forward to it. Have a good night, Indigo, and thanks again for the eggs."

Indigo didn't bother with saying anything else on that matter. He'd already said his goodbye and already said there was no reason to thank him. So, he ended the call, placed the phone on the table, and ate his dinner while thinking about how he was going to raise a teenager when he'd pretty much been alone or with an old man most of his life. He finished the rest of his routine, washing the dishes, getting ready for bed, then lying down and thinking about all the changes that would be made to his life now with a teenager in it.

**A/N  
**First off, I don't own anything from Naruto. Meagan Wood and Indigo Dyskar are mine. Indigo is my baby, one of my older characters I've created, so hands off please.  
Second, it's been awhile since I've written a fanfic for the Naruto fandom. We'll see how it goes. Be patient with me while I get a feel of the canon characters again. Also be patient with the setup. My writing style has changed dramatically, I think, since my previous pieces, so again, patience.  
Thirdly, for those of you that read "Save Me From Insanity," I'm trying to make this my redemption piece. I felt like I ended that story so badly, and that it went down hill when Yumi adopted him, so I'm kinda back-tracking and am going to explore his life outside of the hospital. Hopefully this will be just as good, if not better.  
Fourthly, there will probably be shipping later in the story... most likely NaruGaa. It's something I'd like to happen, but when I put them together, their relationship is really complicated to decipher, so we'll see what happens. There will be lots of exploration of many different things and it will be just as much a journey for me as for you.  
Lastly, I can't guarantee regular updates. I write as inspiration comes to me. I have the first four chapters planned out, but I have to find the time to sit and write them out. Hopefully won't be too too long of waits between chapters, but if they are, I apologize.  
Reviews, questions and favorites are appreciated.


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